United Nations Radio

UN Calling Asia - a weekly 14-minute magazine programme, in English, that keeps you in touch with UN developments covering Asia and the Pacific.

The Asia-Pacific region is one of superlatives when it comes to information and communication technologies - there are over two billion telephone subscribers, for example, and more than 40 per cent of the world's internet users reside here. Text messaging or SMS is the predominant non-voice mobile application. Dr. Susan Teltscher is with the International Telecommunication Union, a specialized agency of the United Nations. She explains why connectivity is so important in the region.

The World Cancer Congress looks at the rise of cancer in developing countries

The World Cancer Congress took place in Geneva, Switzerland from the 27th to the 31st of August. The Congress meets periodically to work on building partnerships across countries, organizations and disciplines to advance the conquest of cancer in every country. A number of experts participated in this year's meeting, including Dr. Judith Mackay of the World Lung Foundation and Dr. David Hill, President of the International Union against Cancer in Australia.

Staffan de Mistura, the UN Envoy to Iraq, talks about a critical time for the country

Recently, the UN commemorated the 5th anniversary of the attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad. At the same time, the UN Conference on Trade and Development signed a cooperation agreement with the Iraqi Government. Staffan de Mistura, the Special Representative of UN Secretary-General for Iraq, told UN Radio's Alpha Diallo why these two events were significant.

Producer: Geraldine Adams

(duration: 14'00")